Scarlet Memories (Book 2): Metamorphosis

by Jessica T. Ozment

  Beautiful mixes of red and orange tones danced along the dash of the van. Ian noticed the radiant hue of blue in Sam’s eye’s as she turned into the light facing her shoulder. The warm sunrise’s colors vibrantly enhanced her features. He reached out a hand towards her face and cupped it gently.

  “I can’t wait for all of this to be over. It’s never been settled down for us. I just want to have a normal life with you. I think we deserve that and I’ll do anything to make sure that happens.” Ian spoke alluringly to Sam and leaned in kissing her delicate lips. He missed the taste of them madly. She was his only reason to stay on this god-forsaken planet and he couldn’t live without her.

  “Neither can I. It’ll be the best time in our lives and I pray that it happens soon.” She voiced as she clutched his rough hands. She leaned her face into his palm and kissed it playfully.

  “I love you.” She smiled at Ian. Her eyes seemed to dance around dreamily each time his gaze passed over her.

  Their attention was broken from each other as Jamie stirred from his heavy dreams. Ian watched as Jamie lifted himself up off of Charlotte’s lap and wiped his mouth; where a bit of saliva had escaped.

  “Where are we?” Jamie asked looking around with a very languid expression. He still looked tired enough to go back to sleep.

  “Since you’re up kiddo, why don’t you get your things together?” Ian asked of Jamie.

  “Just what you need though, we have to walk.” Ian smirked at him and threw a glance back at Sam, who had pulled down the visor of the driver seat to check her lips. They were overly chapped, so she was putting a fair amount of lip balm onto them to moisten them back up.

  “What do you mean we are walking?” Charlotte asked. She just woke up and was stretching her legs and arms, popping her body back into alignment. She had a crick in her neck from sleeping the way she did. She gently massaged the area that hurt her most with her fingers. There wasn’t much she could do for the pain at this point. It would have to work itself out.

  “We have a bit of a problem.” He expressed with a deep, drawn out sigh.

  “When we hit that gate yesterday, it must have knocked a hole in the bottom of the radiator. We’re sitting ducks if we don’t go get another vehicle from that gas station you saw 25 miles back.” Ian said without much enthusiasm in his voice. He didn’t want to back track either. Ian started gathering his things back into his bag.

  “That’s pretty far for us to just walk…” Charlotte pipped up; her cheeks were beginning to take on a rich rosy color.

  “I know it is.” He shrugged as he ran a hand over his head.

  “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a car along the way or something.”

  He saw the look of frustration pass over Charlotte’s face.

  “We can’t just sit here. Sam made remembers most of the gas stations she passed along the way. This is the closest one. There isn’t much that we can do about it.” He raised a hand into the air out of mild resentment. He knew Charlotte meant well. But, they didn’t have much of a choice these days.

  “I know. I just meant with the boy…” Her voice trailed off. She ran her fingers through her hair and took her hair tie and pinned it up off of her neck. She had begun to sweat.

  “We have plenty of water and we’ll stop if we have to so that we can relax for a while. There are a few stops along the way.” Sam assured Charlotte.

  Charlotte had decided they had things pretty well planned out and resumed getting her things together. Ian changed his shirt once more, thinking that it be best his scent isn’t very fresh on his clothing. Ian urged the others to change their clothes as well. He didn’t know much about the world they were stepping into, but if he could help prevent their deaths in any way; he wanted to.

  “Let’s get a count on supplies.” Ian announced to the group.

  He opened his bag and counted the water bottles that he had separately from his assorted snacks. He had five bottles of water and four bags of chips and cookies.

  Jamie lifted his snacks into the air and chimed,” I have three snacks and four bottles of water!”

  “I have three bottles and I think two bags.” Charlotte said as she chunked her goods back into her duffel bag.

  Sam had two bottles of water and three bags of chips. All in all, they had enough food for a few days if they needed it. They would always have to be on guard and ration their food and water. It was a price they would have to pay to live in this world. The group couldn’t take the chance of being out of the one resource that kept them alive. Water. Bullets would do a good job of that too.

  “You guys ready to walk? I’m ready to stretch my legs and go to the bathroom.” Ian said.

  He was hopping around in his seat like he needed to go so badly. The group exchanged nods and simultaneously opened their car doors.

  “Close your doors softly guys!” Ian whispered loudly. He knew he didn’t have to elaborate this time. The group was beginning to understand survival in the real world. You always had to think on your toes. The group listened to Ian’s instruction and stepped away from the vehicles, meeting at the rear of the van. They loaded up what they planned to take with them on the ‘hike’ and shut the van doors. Ian had everyone keep it light. He didn’t want them tired from carrying too much weight. He even took on Jamie’s extra bag because he knew the boy didn’t have much muscle to carry it.

  They started on their journey. It was a very hot and humid day. The sun was beginning to beat down on the group. On a positive note, the group started out early. But, even doing that it was still hot. The weather hadn’t made a decision on what temperature it wanted to stay at. More than likely it would start with chillier nights. That was how summer transformed into fall in Georgia. Slow, very slow.

  The group pushed on down the highway and the air got hotter and hotter, forcing them to drink larger amounts of water. They hadn’t passed anything of use yet. The only thing they had really seen were grass, dirt and the occasional squirrel. They walked about five miles when they came to a house on the left of the highway. It looked abandoned without a vehicle sitting in the driveway.

  “We need to keep going. No need to stop if they don’t have transportation.” Ian suggested.

  He took another sip from his second water bottle and replaced it in the small pocket on the side of his duffle bag. He looked up and narrowed his eyes at the sun as a bead of sweat rolled down his prominent chin. He pulled a white t-shirt out of his bag and clutched it in-between his thumb and index finger as he wiped his face and neck down. He was pouring sweat and the sweltering sun was getting to him.

  “If this keeps up, we won’t have any water left by the time we reach the gas station. We’ve got to figure something out.” Ian deliberated.

  Something quickly caught Ian’s eye as he glanced out into the road. He’d been trying to recount how many miles they had covered so far when he spotted it. Ian placed a hand over his eyes to help him focus. He could barely make out something moving in a field across the highway.

  “Look!” He cried, pointing at some tan horses in a field beyond the fence. They were grazing in the pasture near the group. Seeing this, Ian got an idea. The group slowly made their way across the highway and over to the fencing that withheld the majestic creatures.

  “Be careful. Don’t move too quickly or talk too loudly. You’ll spook them if you do.” Ian told Jamie. He could see the boy’s eyes lighting up as they got closer to the horses. Ian reached down and grabbed some dried grass to hand to Jamie to feed them.

  “Here you go. Now be gentle. Let them grab it from you. They’ll start to trust you if you go easy.” Ian hinted as he handed the grass to Jamie. He took the grass and slowly reached through the wire fence, holding his hand in place as the horse came by to eat it. It stretched out its long tongue and licked the grass off of Jamie’s hand happily.

  “Ewwwwww!” Jamie blurted out as he took a good look at his slobber-filled hand. He immediately wiped it onto his jeans and leaned towards the
fence to pet the horse.

  “Easy now.” Ian cautioned as he brought a hand up to the horse’s head and gently caressed its golden mane. The magnificent stallion let out a proud ‘neigh’ and jumped up on two legs.

  “These creatures are to be respected. When I was little, my parents sent me to train on how to ride them. Have you ever?” Ian questioned Jamie. Ian already knew he hadn’t, he could tell by the way he eyed the creatures. Ian watched as Jamie shook his head ‘no.’

  “They are powerful animals. Maybe, just maybe, we can get on one of them. Maybe ride them to the gas station…” Ian suggested to the two women, who were sitting back watching Ian teach Jamie about the horses.

  “You know, that might just be the best idea you’ve had all day!” Sam joked as she brushed up behind Ian and placed a hand around his waist.

  “Are we going to try and ride them then?” She asked, placing her chin on the back of his shoulder. She nestled her face into his shirt. Taking in the smell of fabric softener on Ian’s clothing. Sam was already missing his smell. Since being at the CDC, they had barely been next to each other. She missed the affection he normally gave her.

  “I think we can, although, if we did, we’d have to ride them bareback. And that can get very sore after a while.” Ian affirmed. He turned around and held onto Sam softly.

  “I hope this is all over soon.” He thought as he squeezed her body to his.

  “Do you have any ideas?” Charlotte asked Ian. She had moved in next to Jamie to watch him pet the horses.

  “I do have those bolt cutters still. We could cut the fence. I can take Sam with me on one and you can take Jamie.” He advised.

  “Sounds good to me, you seem to know what you’re doing. You can lead the way.” Charlotte declared.

  Ian reached into his bag and pulled out the metal bolt cutters. He dipped them between the fence to the other side.

  “Alright, everybody come through the fence while they are still inside it. I’ll get everyone on a horse then cut it and we can go.” He said as he held the fence open for Jamie and the others to go through.

  “Once you’re on, be calm. I am willing to bet that these horses are used to contact. Lightly grab on to some of their mane and I’ll show you the rest in a minute.”

  First, he put Sam onto the horse they would be sharing it was a mixed shade of red and brown with white lining the top of its head.

  “Steady babe. I’ll be up there soon.” Ian affirmed her. He smiled at the site of her on top of a horse. She was beautiful. How he wished the apocalypse hadn’t happened and they had met under different circumstances. Sam took up some of the horse’s mane as Ian instructed and waited patiently for him to come back.

  He then got Charlotte and Jamie onto their horse, surprisingly, without much trouble.

  “You think you can handle this man?” He asked Jamie jokingly as he took his hand and ruffled up his shaggy hair. Jamie shook off Ian’s hand as he nodded back at him and wrapped his hands around Charlotte’s waist.

  “I think so. She’s gonna do all the work.” Jamie said through a very toothy grin. He pressed his face against her back and relaxed, feeling confident that things would get better from here on out. He thoroughly enjoyed being so close to the horses.

  Ian walked over to the fence and began sniping away at the sharp metal. Before long, there was a gap wide enough for the horses to pass through. Ian then jumped up onto his designated horse with Sam and slowly made the horse move towards the fence.

  “Now, once you’re ready for him to start walking, you give him a light kick with the heels of your feet into his ribs. Don’t hurt him; just let him know you want to go. Grab ahold of his mane and steer. It’s pretty simple. I’m going to go first.” Ian said as he pulled the horse’s hair slightly to the left to get out of the fence.

  “Lead by my example.” He suggested to Charlotte.

  The horse was a little uneasy about someone riding him but, eventually straightened up and allowed Ian to continue.

  “Good thing they are broken. I was worried we might have a problem.” Ian joked.

  He made the creature walk through the fence and turned it around to face Charlotte. She looked rather worried about the whole ordeal. But, she reluctantly followed Ian’s steps and got the horse out onto the highway.

  “There. That wasn’t so bad. You think you got this?” Ian asked Charlotte as he strode up next to her. He placed a hand onto her horses’ head and calmed him with his soothing touch. He would love nothing more than for her to get bucked off, but he couldn’t think of that because Jamie was on there, too. The horse let out a neigh, which sounded like it was satisfied and they began their trek to the gas station.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Every bone in Ian’s body ached from his lower back down. He had to constantly re-adjust himself so that he didn’t bruise the inside of his legs from the horses back. They really should have been using saddles, but didn’t have any readily available. They had to make do and ride bare back.

  The sultry sun was situated high overhead the group and the sky was a splendid shade of blue. The lineament of the clouds was in perfect formation, and the white-breasted Nuthatches song echoed throughout the edges of the dense forest next to them. It was a tranquil afternoon.

  Ian’s thoughts wondered through his grandfather’s old stories. He told them often when he had a few beers in him.

  His attention was ripped from his fond memories as he heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. He whirled his head around searching behind them for the approaching car, but there wasn’t anything.

  “What the hell?” He thought perplexed, scratching his head with his index finger.

  “Did you hear that?” He asked Sam, who was now also struggling to listen.

  “Yeah, sounds like a car…But, I don’t see anything.”

  Ian and Sam exchanged bewildered looks.

  “It’s the Mockingbirds. They mock the cars along the highway. It’s quite common in Georgia to hear them do this.” Charlotte interrupted. She had a ‘matter of fact,’ attitude when she spoke.

  Ian decided he didn’t want to small talk with Charlotte, so he didn’t respond. He turned his gaze and shifted his hard eye’s forward and rode on for a while, not realizing how long they’d been out in the heat.

  Ian twisted his neck around to check on Charlotte and Jamie. The youngster was leaning on her back with drool hanging down the side of his mouth.

  “Poor kid is completely drained.” Ian acknowledged.

  Charlotte had a permanent grimace on her face. She too had resorted to constantly re-adjusting her posture on top of her horse. Ian could tell that she was trying to shroud the fact that she was in pain. Sam turned her head in unison with Ian’s and spoke in Charlotte’s direction.

  “Don’t worry we’re almost there!” Sam assured them. She had picked up on Charlotte mood too.

  “How far do you think we really are?” She whispered into Ian’s ear, not wanting to let the others know she wasn’t sure of where they actually were.

  “I don’t think we have but maybe three or four miles left a head of us.” He quoted Sam.

  It was the best that he could do without navigation informing him on his route. They still had plenty of light in the day to make it to the gas station. It really just came down to the fact that they were being followed and that they couldn’t afford to spare any extra time.

  Soon, the gas station in which Sam had been referring came into view. It was a shanty older building, with two gas pumps out front. It had been painted red and yellow to attract passersby. The group picked up their stride and shortly after, arrived in front of the parking lot. There were a few vehicles outside, most of which looked like they had not been driven in quite some time. Sand and dust had covered the windows and tires almost completely. Ian and Sam were the first to get off of their horse. Both had pain shooting up their legs and back as they jumped down onto the ground.

  “Oh my god I hope I never have to do tha
t without a saddle again. That was pure torture!” Sam said gripping her back tightly. She bent over and tried to pop her back into alignment.

  “I’m going to help you off.” Ian insisted to Charlotte. He was, after all, a gentleman. Forcing a smile to surface, he offered Charlotte his hand and she grabbed it as she jumped down off of the horse. It playfully neighed as she brushed its side with her delicate hand. Jamie came down next looking rather tired still.

  “You going to be able to wake up champ?” Ian asked Jamie, grabbing his shoulders and directing him over to the girls. They were stretching over by Ian’s horse.

  “Should we go inside and see if there are any resources we can use?” Charlotte asked Ian, placing her hand on the top of Jamie’s head and gently caressing it.

  “Yeah, we will go in just as soon as we check out these cars. I need to see if it was worth the trip.” Ian told her.

  He grasped his bag, throwing it over his shoulder as he crossed the parking lot in a few long strides. He had found an older model Honda that looked to be in good shape. You could barely make out that it was white with all of the dust covering it. Ian reached for the door handle and pulled, opening it. He sat down in the driver’s seat to get a better look at the dash. He could still smell old beer and cigarettes in the air from the previous owner.

  Nearly gagging, Ian brushed his arm over his mouth and tried the key that was left in the cars ignition. As he turned it, he could hear the electricity coursing through the car. It turned over without much trouble. Ian wondered how long the car had been sitting there.

  “An older car like this didn’t usually yield such good results after sitting for a year.” Ian thought in disbelief as the group cheered happily outside the vehicle.

  He shook his head as he gave up the bad thought;

  “This was a good sign.” Ian turned the car off for the time being.

  “We need fuel next. I’ll go inside and check for Cold Ones first. If I see anything I’ll holler.” Ian said switching his gaze from Charlotte to Sam. He thought her more capable of handling one of the Cold Ones, more so than Charlotte. She seemed more helpless than Sam. She, at least had a little bit of experience with them, no matter how long ago it was. Sam nodded back at him and he turned his head towards the gas station door.